Witnessed by: TCM
Jiang xiang ru (Mosla chinensis), of the Lamiaceae family. Small erect annual herb of the mint family with slender square stems, narrow leaves and dense terminal spikes; native range: central and southern China; the 'jiang' grade cultivated in Jiangxi. Globally recognized as 香薷 (xiang ru) · 江香薷 (jiang xiang ru) in Chinese, and Chinese mosla, aromatic madder in English. The part used is the whole aerial part, gathered in flower. Slender purplish square stems with small opposite leaves, strongly and cleanly aromatic when rubbed; the taste pungent, cooling on the tongue and faintly bitter.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
XIANG RU
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- jiang xiang ru
- Scientific name
- Mosla chinensis Maxim.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Form
- Part used
- the whole aerial part, gathered in flower
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent
Temperature
- TCM
- warm (slightly warm)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- releases the exterior and disperses summer-dampness (its cardinal pairing), transforms damp and harmonises the middle burner, and promotes urination to reduce oedema
Cautions
- Contraindications
- exterior deficiency with spontaneous sweating — the herb opens the exterior and will drain a body already leaking; and heat patterns without the damp-cold that calls for it
- Toxicity
- low toxicity in the ordinary dose; taken warm, or in excess, it nauseates and may provoke vomiting
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